Deep fat fryer

ABSTRACT

A deep fat dryer having a cooking pot, combustion chambers extending front-to-rear under the pot, burners adjacent front ends and a vertical flue at rear ends of combustion chambers, characterized by a horizontal bottom wall for the flue with an air intake opening of less area than the horizontal area of the flue, and a cool air scoop secured along its rear edge adjacent rear edge of opening and having a depending portion comprising a forwardly and downwardly inclined section and a horizontal section defining a free edge forwardly of the air intake opening spaced below the bottom flue wall a distance substantially sixty percent of the front-to-rear width of the air intake opening.

Anetsberger et al.

[ Sept. 25, 1973 DEEP FAT FRYER [75] Inventors: Richard J. Anetsberger; John A.

Anetsberger, both of Northbrook, Ill.

[73] v Assignee: Anetsberger Brothers, Inc.,

Northbrook, Ill.

[22] Filed: Feb. 14, 1972 [21] Appl. No.2 226,008

Anetsberger 99/408 Primary Examiner-Meyer Perlin Assistant Examiner-Ronald C. Capossela Attorney-James A. Davis et al.

[57] ABSTRACT A deep fat dryer having a cooking pot, combustion chambers extending front-to-rear under the pot, burners adjacent front ends and a vertical flue at rear ends of combustion chambers, characterized by a horizontal bottom wall for the flue with an air intake opening of less area than the horizontal area of the flue, and a cool air scoop secured along its rear edge adjacent rear edge of opening and having a depending portion comprising a forwardly and downwardly inclined section and a horizontal section defining a free edge forwardly of the air intake opening spaced below the bottom flue wall a distance substantially sixty percent of the front-to-rear width of the air intake opening.

4 Claims, 2 Drawing Figures PAFENTED 2 7 SHEET 2 0F 2 1 I I i i5 DEEP FAT FRYER BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention This invention relates generally to deep fat fryers, and more particularly to those commonly known as gas fryers, either tube or under-fired.

2. Description of the Prior Art Us. Letters Pat. No. 3,363,541, although primarily concerned with crumb collection, discloses a deep fat fryer having a cooking pot, combustion chambers extending front-to-rear under the pot burners adjacent the front ends of the combustion chambers, and a vertical flue communicating with the rear ends of the combustion chambers, the bottom end of the flue being closed and a safety fire wall being disposed in rearwardly spaced relationship to the flue as a heat guard. The latter is necessary because with a commercially rated 14-inch fryer of such construction and 135,000 Btu burner output, the flue temperature is over 900 Fahrenheit.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The principal object of this invention is to materially decrease the flue temperature, with the resulting elimination of a cabinet rear heat guard and lowering of the temperature of the pot rear wall, and to effectively reduce the recovery time of a deep fat fryer like that of US. Pat. No. 3,363,541.

These drastically improved results have been accomplished by providing an air intake opening in the substantially horizontal bottom wall of the flue of slightly less area than the horizontal area of the flue and attaching adjacent the rear edge of that air intake opening a cool air scoop having a depending portion comprising a downwardly and forwardly inclined section and a substantially horizontal forwardly extending section defining a free edge forwardly of the front edge of the air intake spaced therebelow a distance substantially sixty percent of the front-to-rear width of the air intake opening.

IN THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is a side elevation of a deep fat fryer embodying the invention, with parts broken away and parts in vertical section; and

FIG. 2 is a detail horizontal section taken substantially on the line 2-2 of FIG. 1 on an enlarged scale.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED I EMBODIMENT Referring more particularly to the drawings, reference numeral 11 indicates in general, a deep fat fryer embodying the features of this invention which is of generally similar construction to that disclosed in my referenced prior US. Pat. No. 3,363,541. As therein disclosed, the fryer comprises a cooking pot, generally indicated by the reference numeral 25, which is made up of sidewalls 26, a front wall 27, a rear wall 28 and a multi-curved bottom 29. This bottom 29 of the pot defines a pair of laterally spaced combustion chambers 31 extending longitudinally front-to-rear of the fryer between the front and rear walls 27 and 28. A horizontal wall 35 defines the bottom of each of these combustion chambers 31. Below these bottom walls 35 of the combustion chambers, the front and rear walls 27 and 28 and the laterally spaced lower portions of the curved bottom 29 and the sidewalls 26 define cool zones 36, as more fully described in US. Pat. No. 3,363,541. As also therein detailed, the intermediate portion of the cooking pot 25 extending upwardly from the horizontal bottom walls away from the heat shield means 35 to a short distance above the uppermost portions of the pot bottom 29 comprises a fat-heating zone 37, while the upper portion of the pot defines the usual frying zone 38.

Mounted forwardly of the respective combustion chambers 31 in any suitable manner are heat-supplying means in the form of upstanding burners 42 positioned to direct flames issuing therefrom rearwardly into their respective combustion chambers 31. It will be noted in FIG. 1 that the lowermost cool zones 36 of the pot 25 stope downwardly and forwardly to facilitate draining of the cooking fat therefrom through the agency of a manually operable drain valve 43.

All of the mechanism hereinbefore described and this arrangement of the parts are the same as those disclosed in US. Pat. No. 3,363,541 and the same reference numerals used in that patent have been employed herein to identify the various parts.

As in that referenced patent, the combustion chambers 31 communicate at their rear ends with a vertically disposed flue indicated generally herein by reference numeral 61. In US. Pat. No. 3,363,541 the bottom of this vertical flue is closed and a safety fire wall unidentified by reference numeral is shown disposed in rear wardly spaced relationship to the flue as a heat guard. In this fryer, as herein illustrated, such vertically disposed heat guard has been eliminated and a substantially horizontal wall 62 at the bottom of the flue 61 is provided with an air intake opening 63 of slightly less area than the horizontal area of the flue.

A cool air scoop indicated generally by reference numeral 64 is secured in any suitable manner along its rear marginal edge to the flue bottom wall 62 which defines the rear laterally extending edge of the opening 63. This .cool air scoop 64 is made up of a depending portion comprising a downwardly and forwardly inclined section 65 and a substantially horizontal forwardly extending section 66 terminating in a free edge portion 67 which extends forwardly slightly beyond the front edge of the air intake opening 63.

With this novel arrangement, cool air is directed by the scoop 64 upwardly through the intake opening 63 from the spaces between the pot cool zones 36 below the heat shields 35, as illustrated by the arrows 68 in FIG. 1, to move upwardly through the flue 61 principally adjacent its rear wall and mix with the products of combustion flowing into the flue from the combustion chambers 31, as illustrated by arrows 69 in FIG. 1.

The distance of the free edge 67 of the cool air scoop 64 below the bottom flue wall 62 has been found to be critical, although why this is true is not fully understood. However, it has been determined that such distance of the free edge 67 below the air intake opening 63 must be substantially 60 percent of the front-to-rear width of the opening 63. For example, in the preferred embodiment of a commercially rated 14 inch fryer with 135,000 Btu burner output, a flue of 4 inches and an air inlet opening of 3% inches front-to-rear, the free edge 67 of the cool air scoop 64 should be 2 inches below the bottom flue wall 62. As that distance is decreased, the flue temperature materially increases; and as that distance is increased, loss of draft through the combustion chambers 31 results and the borners 42 are rendered ineffective, which is visually evidenced by the immediate appearance of upwardly and outwardly directed flames between the front ends of the combustion chambers 31 and the burners 42.

Comparative tests between the operation of such a deep fat fryer having a commercial rating as a 14 inch model with 135,000 Btu and the bottom of the flue closed, and the same structure and burners with a 4 inch deep flue, a 3% inch wide front-to-rear air intake 63 in the flue bottom wall 62, and a cool air scoop 64 with its free edge 67 spaced 2 inches below the bottom wall 62 (substantially 60 percent of the front-'to-rear width of 63), gave the following average results:

1. With a cooling water-circulating coil in the cooking pot, continuous firing for minutes brought the maximum fat temperature to 325 Fahrenheit and:

Flue Bottom Air intake Temp.

closed and scoop Reduction Flue: 950 485 48.9% Rear wall flue: 580 400 3] Rear wall kettle: 150 130 13.3%

2. With fryer set for idle fat temperature of 330 F burners turned on, and when fat temperature reached 350 F test load of 5 pounds of sliced potatoes from the same original 100 pound source were introduced in the usual basket. Each test completed upon fat temperature recovering to 350 F.

FLUE BOTTOM CLOSED This constitutes a flue temperature reduction of 44.5 percent and a reduction in recovery time of 22.7 percent.

Consequently, not only are fire hazards drastically reduced with the use of the air intake 63 and cool air scope 64, in fact to the point that the prior art cabinet rear heat guard no longer is required, but the great reduction in recovery time also obtained is of prime importance to commercial operations. And the resulting reduction of the rear kettle wall temperature simplifies cleaning of the fryer because that is where fat splatters and the higher the temperature of that rear wall, the stronger is the bonding thereto of the resultingly baked splatters.

1. In a deep fat fryer having a cooking pot, combustion chamber means extending front-to-rear under said pot, burner means adjacent the front of said pot for supplying heat to said combustion chamber means, and a vertical flue communicating with the rear of said combustion chamber means; a substantially horizontal wall at the bottom of said flue with an air intake opening of less area than the horizontal area of said flue, and a cool air scoop secured along one edge adjacent a transversely extending portion of said wall defining one laterally extending edge of said opening and having a depending portion terminating in a substantially horizontal free edge portion spaced below the other laterally extending edge of said opening, wherein said free edge of said scoop is spaced below said bottom flue wall a distance substantially sixty percent of the frontto-rear width of said air intake opening therein.

2. In a deep fat fryer having a cooking pot, combustion chamber means extending front-to-rear under said pot, burner means adjacentthe front of said pot for supplying heat to said combustion chamber means, and a vertical flue communicating with the rear of said combustion chamber means; a substantially horizontal wall at the bottom of said foue with an air intake opening of less area than the horizontal area of said flue, and a cool air scoop secured along one edge adjacent a transversely extending portion of said wall defining one laterally extending edge of said opening and having a depending portion terminating in a substantially horizontal free edge portion spaced below the other laterally extending edge of said opening, wherein the rear edge of said scoop is that secured adjacent the rear edge of said air intake opening, and said depending portion comprises a downwardly and forwardly inclined section and a substantially horizontal forwardly extending section defining said free edge portion.

3. A deep fat fryer according to claim 2, wherein said free edge portion of said scoop extends forwardly beyond the front edge of said air intake opening.

4. A deep fat fryer according to claim 3, wherein said free edge of said scoop is spaced below said bottom flue wall a distance substantially sixty percent of the frontto-rear width of said air intake opening therein. 

1. In a deep fat fryer having a cooking pot, combustion chamber means extending front-to-rear under said pot, burner means adjacent the front of said pot for supplying heat to said combustion chamber means, and a vertical flue communicating with the rear of said combustion chamber means; a substantially horizontal wall at the bottom of said flue with an air intake opening of less area than the horizontal area of said flue, and a cool air scoop secured along one edge adjacent a transversely extending portion of said wall defining one laterally extending edge of said opening and having a depending portion terminating in a substantially horizontal free edge portion spaced below the other laterally extending edge of said opening, wherein said free edge of said scoop is spaced below said bottom flue wall a distance substantially sixty percent of the front-to-rear width of said air intake opening therein.
 2. In a deep fat fryer having a cooking pot, combustion chamber means extending front-to-rear under said pot, burner means adjacent the front of said pot for supplying heat to said combustion chamber means, and a vertical flue communicating with the rear of said combustion chamber means; a substantially horizontal wall at the bottom of said foue with an air intake opening of less area than the horizontal area of said flue, and a cool air scoop secured along one edge adjacent a transversely extending portion of said wall defining one laterally extending edge of said opening and having a depending portion terminating in a substantially horizontal free edge portion spaced below the other laterally extending edge of said opening, wherein the rear edge of said scoop is that secured adjacent the rear edge of said air intake opening, and said depending portion comprises a downwardly and forwardly inclined section and a substantially horizontal forwardly extending section defining said free edge portion.
 3. A deep fat fryer according to claim 2, wherein said free edge portion of said scoop extends forwardly beyond the front edge of said air intake opening.
 4. A deep fat fryer according to claim 3, wherein said free edge of said scoop is spaced below said bottom flue wall a distance substantially sixty percent of the front-to-rear width of said air intake opening therein. 